Cruisemeister2002

I think it's something that's creeping in on many cruise lines sadly. Whilst I don't have an issue with people wanting to be more casual on a cruise, some, such as myself who are retired wear casual most of the time therefore it is nice to be smart on a cruise. Not all the time as I still am on holiday. As far as crew taking charge there seems to be a certain amount of being afraid to make passengers adhere to a certain dress code in certain areas because of complaints or comeback on them. This has to be addressed by senior management and staff told in no way will they be reprimanded for making people adhere to rules and the rules should be clearly defined.

Must admit I wear PJ's or lounge wear most of the time when at home. But never on a cruise, except in our cabin. I did have a problem on our last cruise with swollen feet and did remove my shoes when going back to the cabin at night, although I did have socks on. I am aware that not everyone wants to dress up even on formal nights and that's their prerogative. Neither those that wish to dress up or those wanting to dress down should say that the other is wrong as long as where required the correct dress code is adhered to.

Some of these "Special" meals are no different to the normal meals and for a celebrity chef to put his name to them is a bit dodgy if you ask me. Since we started sailing back in 2002 P&O standards have dropped significantly and whilst some may say cruising is cheaper now if you take all the things that have gone it should be.

Last year we were on Ventura for 35 nights and had seven formals, this year we are trying Princess and for a 31 night cruise it's five formals. It causes me some confusion that Princess can do the pond crossing, both back and forth in five nights and yet P&O take six and last year due to missing the first port which was Burmuda it was ten nights, ghastly, as was the whole cruise. Also why don't P&O inform passengers of formal nights like Princess does, we knew it was five formals when we booked last year. O.K. they don't tell you which nights, but due to sail days you can hazard a good guess, like four of them will be two crossing and two coming back.

Booked our very first Plus package for a cruise later in the year. Usually a P&O customer, but due to a cruise experience last year that I don't wish to repeat have changed allegiance to Princess and as I say booked the Plus package. Didn't get a deal on the package, but the cruise for the same grade cabin and the Plus package is now £1,600 or around $1990 more and we may bid for an upgrade which I believe can be done around five days after the cruise balance is paid.

Sometimes I believe there's a misconception that the prices offered onboard are better than you can get elsewhere. They rely on a feelgood factor. Hopefully you are having a wonderful experience, de-stressed and in holiday mood so you go and book a future cruise. The cruises on offer are tempting and I am not saying that the deals aren't good and the OBC helps. However our upcoming cruise I booked direct and now it's £1,600 more for the same grade cabin and plus package. Or around $1990.

Perhaps we should all go with the Flo then ? I have booked our first night on Sky in Estrella as well. I think maybe, although no expert, that cancellation of bookings may take place after balances have been paid. Our cruise funnily enough departs the day after these new arrangements come in.

Not trying to be a "Know it all" but my take on this is if you haven't as yet paid the full balance which is normally due around 3 months prior to departure then you won't hear anything until the balance is paid. Might be completely wrong. Just my own idea on this.

I see your point and like yourself have never had a package before, although I have indulged in what on P&O they call a Celebration package which doesn't include an allowance of drinks, fitness classes, casual dining. But does include a champagne breakfast in your cabin, bathrobes and slippers, presentation champagne flute, formal photo and frame, 2 x Speciality restaurant visits, a facial or 50 minute massage and two desserts in your cabin for around £400. However this year we are cruising onboard Sky Princess and have ordered the Princess Plus package. As with yourself I do question whether I am doing the correct thing as neither myself or wife drink huge amounts, neither of us participate in going to a gym and although I like ice cream, my wife can take or leave them. As for gratuities until they became as they are now we only tipped our cabin steward and main dining room table waiters.

Possibly due to final balances being paid as Princess have emailed me to say after the day the balance is due I will be contacted to tell them my dining preference.

Me too, fortunately our cruise departs 15th September, so a day after it comes into being.

Have today received notification that Princess will be changing the dining arrangements after the 14th September and that once we have paid the balance on our cruise we will be afforded the options available for dining arrangements. It was welcome and strange how these new arrangements start the day before we sail. As I have said we welcome these changes. Don't think we are stick in the muds for preferring a set time each night and we like the thought of hopefully building a rapport with our fellow diners as we will probably request a table of six.

Seems like a good idea to me. I suppose it all depends on who wants what on whichever ship they are sailing. I don't know the individual amounts that the MDR's take on say Sky Princess. I say Sky Princess as this is the ship we next sail on. No reason once an approximate amount of passengers is know and what dining option they prefer that if x amount of passengers want set time dining split into early and mid evening and y amount who want anytime then providing both early and mid evening dining doesn't fill the restaurant the remaining setting could be used for anytime dining. I suppose how the kitchen is set up for the various dining times may influence this, I don't honestly know.

Over the moon. have apart from one cruise which was a late booking dined at 8.30 so will save having to book a restaurant each night. Most of my previous cruises were on P&O and up until the two latest additions of Iona and Arvia fixed dining was always available. Why do we like it ? It gives us a chance to make good friends as you are seated with them every night. If for whatever reason you don't get on with someone you can always switch to another table but have only in 18 cruises not got on with someone. Also as I say the time suits as except when on an excursion we go back to our cabin late afternoon, maybe have a nap, shower and have a drink in our cabin before going to a bar for a pre dinner drink. Have our meal in the MDR and then go to a show in the theatre and then if there's a cabaret show we like go on to that, if not retire for the night with maybe a hot chocolate.

If the refit is on a par with that which took place on Ventura last year I don;t seriously know why they bother. The ship was 5 hours late into port the crew didn't seem to know what they were doing and the chefs must have been on holiday. There was still refitting staff on the ship when we sailed apparently fitting carpets in the staff quarters.There seems so much ballyhoo surrounding refits with illusions that the ship will look new. Have much nicer modern decor and that millions have been spent. I should have known better. Didn't particularly go a bundle on Ventura first time and last years cruise was by far the worst of the seventeen cruises taken.Have even gone over to Princess after a very bad experience on Ventura. It was a disaster from day one and never improved the next 34 nights. The two highlights were the two tribute acts and the meals we had in Sindu. Those apart, very, very poor and many passengers we spoke to were making notes of their problems as well.

What's the betting though if they collected them for disposal they'd make a charge. Seems the norm to me that although historically cruising is cheaper fare wise than it used to be every way you turn someone wants their pound of flesh for everything and things that were once inclusive now require a charge. Not limited to Princess either.

Hi all, just wanted to know if anyone else was sailing on the Sky Princess in September this year and had booked the excursion which was a tour of New York at night. Why I say this is strange is because the excursion is on the second day of our stop off and it states the ship departs New York at 5 p.m. but the tour starts at 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Unless the time of leaving is wrong or the excursion has been put on the wrong day on Princess website it's a bit odd. They also added that have a two day New York bus pass on the second day as well ?

Just looked on NCL. It's $109 per day for the Premium package, drinks up to $15. A Premium Plus at $138 per person per daywhich are all top shelf cocktails and spirits,Hawaii package $109 apparently a wide selection of drinks up to $15 + a 20% gratuity.An unlimited soda package $9+ 20% gratuity per person per day and finally an unlimited Starbucks package at £12.95 + 20% gratuities .

Are the prices on these cruise lines higher for unlimited ? Also as I say, some would exceed the 15 limit and some wouldn't so I suppose as far as the unlimited cruise lines are concerned if you make a charge it evens itself out whereas Princess would gain because they would charge extra for those exceeding the 15 limit and also make on those that come well under it as well.

I would check that as my balance payment for a cruise onboard Sky princess in September is due in June. Be wary, how did you receive this demand ? Recently I received a request for a payment for a hotel I had booked prior to our cruise in September. Firstly the payment is not due to be paid again until June and secondly just after the request I received an email stating that several people had requests for payments and it was a scam. Not saying yours is, but just be careful

As with everything if you have for instance an eat all you can at a set price some will literally eat all they can. I have seen instances where people go to the buffet area at breakfast and pile their plate high and then leave half of it. Possibly one reason for silver service being done away with on ships and ready plated meals are served in the main dining rooms. A pity really as I like silver service and was as a young man trained as such. Therefore I believe that if you made drinks unlimited some would literally go for it and some would be under the current 15 drinks. My concern would be that whilst I am in no way concerned what others alcoholic wise consume if it spilled over into bad behaviour , drunkenness followed by bad language and fighting and impacting on other passengers enjoyment then no I wouldn't agree with unlimited and I doubt from a personal view I would even near the 15 a day.

I fully understand your feelings. Cruising with whatever cruise line seems not to be what it was. I cannot really comment on any other cruise line than P&O as out of 17 past cruises 16 were with P&O and one with Princess back in 2004. P&O have changed significantly and whilst I have had comments in that others don't miss these things I do. When we first sailed it was back in 2002 on Victoria, a ocean going ship that P&O bought as it was no longer required for transatlantic crossings due to the Jumbo Jet coming into service. It was originally called the Kungsholm, then Sea Princess. When P&O bought Princess cruises Princess had their own Sea Princess so the P&O one became Victoria. A small ship holding around 700 passengers. The cabin we had was a sea view, if you could call it that as it had a small porthole which was closed going through the Bay of Biscay. With P&O on our early days you got a little bag with the P&O logo with ladies toiletries. Your bed was turned down at night and a chocolate on the pillow. Drinking chocolate and sandwiches after the late show in the theatre and an announcer describing ports of call as you sailed in. Steak wasn't available as the norm on the dinner menu, but if you didn't like anything on the main course you could request a steak and it was decent quality. Now they are available every evening, but not as good a quality. Stilton cheese came in a truckle and a good selection was available. Now it's pre- plated with very small pieces of cheese. The meals were all silver service, much nicer than today's where everything comes pre-plated.

I refute the suggestion I am calling you or anyone an alcoholic. I did maybe suggest that if someone could arrive back at the ship late afternoon and down 15 drinks between then and bedtime that it was something I and I would think a majority would have difficulty in consuming that amount. Each to their own though, if that's what floats your boat then good luck to you. As for the 3,000 different plans I agree we all, as with the drinks situation have different ideas. But there would be no need for 3,000 different plans. All that needs to happen is for Princess or whatever cruise line to make a couple of things available instead if a passenger say didn't want the 2 x gym visits they could have a voucher for the shops onboard. If for instance you wanted a bottle of wine at you evening meal it could be a substitute for some of the drinks you had during the day. Not hard to carry out as they obviously monitor the 15 x $15 limit per day.

Yeah agree. I have been on 17 cruises prior to the one we have later in the year. This will be the first time we have taken out one of these packages as we aren't big drinkers. Our normal routine would maybe be a drink lunchtime or if I watch a football match in the afternoon with a couple of beers and the wife will have a cider or a pina colada. Before dinner we shower and have a drink in our cabin, then go to a bar and have a glass of wine. Sometimes we have a bottle of wine at dinner or I have a beer and my wife a gin and tonic. Unless we go to a cabaret act after the theatre we don't drink again except for a cup of hot chocolate before bed.

Sorry for this. But obviously "To infinity and beyond"